Ashes and Oaths
by Higuchimon
Summary: Once everything was normal. People didn't hurt themselves regularly and if they did, it wasn't hard at all to get it taken care of. If people died, there were others to take care of those left behind. All that's changed now: changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Ashes and Oaths  
 **Characters:** Shun, Ruri, Yuuto|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Word Count:** 3,279/9,399|| **Chapters:** 1/3  
 **Genre:** Angst, Drama|| **Rated:** PG  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing: Arc-V divergent/alternate timelines: H05, three-shot; Arc-V Angst Week, day #1, Heartland  
 **Notes:** This takes place, obviously, pre-canon, during the early days of the invasion of Heartland. Upon rewatching Arc-V, I noticed it was said the invasion would be soon, three years prior to canon. So, for the sake of this story, the invasion began two and a half years before Yuuya discovers Pendelum Summoning. Also, there is minor character death and everything else that pertains to the invasion in this.  
 **Summary:** Once everything was normal. People didn't hurt themselves regularly and if they did, it wasn't hard at all to get it taken care of. If people died, there were others to take care of those left behind. All that's changed now: changed forever.

* * *

Shun wasn't certain if the clouds were actual clouds, perhaps filled with rain that could wash away the streaks of blood he didn't want to look at or if they were just the remains of the most recent attack the Antique Gear monsters unleashed on the city.

He curled himself into the tiny hole he'd found. It really wasn't big enough for him – he'd always enjoyed being tall, it made him feel like he could protect the ones he cared about. But now it meant that he couldn't always stay in the same places that they did. There just wasn't enough room.

Right now, this little hole did provide enough cover. If he folded himself up in just the right way, then it wasn't likely that any of the duel soldiers going by, or the far too solid holographic monsters they walked with, would notice him.

At least he didn't think they would. He wasn't sure if those monsters – Antique Gear Hunting Hounds – could track by scent or not. He'd heard stories, but he didn't know if they were true or if people just panicked.

Flickers of rage coursed through him at the thought of his people panicking. That had happened so _much_ in those early days. No one knew what was going on. The world came to an end and no one knew why or how.

Bits of information came through, that was all, tiny and disconnected and no one was entirely certain of what they could trust, or who they could trust.

Another dimension. A whole other world, with a summoning method that Shun had only heard of in his duel history classes. And unknown numbers of soldiers marching into _this_ world, turning everyone they encountered into cards with little more than a wave of a hand.

Sometimes they dueled first. Not always. He'd seen people he knew, people he'd gone to classes with, people who'd lived on his block, transformed into cards without even the chance to raise a duel disk in defense.

Sometimes something even worse happened.

* * *

Shun ran through the streets, grip on Ruri's wrist as tight as he could manage without actually hurting her. Yuuto ran on his other side, just barely keeping up with him.

"Did you see them?" Ruri gasped. Of the three, he'd always had the longest legs and could run the fastest. If he hadn't feared what would happen if they'd lost sight of each other, he would have run on ahead.

But after the last few hours, he wasn't going to leave anyone behind. He could not forget – would not forget – the streak of light aimed right for him, and the sharp shock of being pushed aside, crashing into a broken wall…

And then the single card wafting downward…

Shun shook his head, clinging to Ruri's question in an attempt to not think about those few horrid moments. The card in his pocket remained there, silent and unmoving, as a card should be.

It was a card that should _not_ be and yet it was.

Yuuto caught up, stumbling to a halt as the Kurosakis paused at what had been a street corner not all that long ago. He breathed a little more deeply.

"Do you think they're all right?"

The question drove deep into Shun's heart. He clenched his teeth as hard as he could, biting back the words that raged. How could anyone be all right in all of this?

Cards lay everywhere, scattered to the four winds. Some of them came from normal decks. He even recognized a few as belonging to people he knew.

Some of them held the faces of people that he knew, and the card in his pocket warmed.

His imagination. Nothing more than that.

"I want them to be," was all he could say. He couldn't entirely believe they were. Neither of them were duelists. Even if the invaders gave them the chance to fight back – which they didn't most of the time – then they weren't _good_ at it. It would take almost no time for them to lose. To be lost.

Another block. It would have taken almost no time just the day before to get there. Now they had to move carefully, to watch out for any of the invaders who could be wandering in the area, to keep their attention alert for falling debris.

A day ago this had been a perfectly ordinary neighborhood. Shun found it a little boring, in fact. He'd wanted something to happen. He'd never been very specific on _what_ he'd wanted to happen, so long as it was a little interesting.

This wasn't what he'd wanted. This wasn't even close to what he wanted.

Carefully they made their way through what had been houses and now were ruined, burning messes. Shun couldn't even imagine what had done all of this. He wasn't sure what monsters the invaders used, except that they were strong and big and ruined everything they came near.

Ruri gasped. Shun's head came up at once and he saw they'd come within sight of what had once been their home. If he didn't recognize a few of the boards being in the right colors, he wouldn't have known. There wasn't anything really left.

Everything shattered. Broken. Burned. There weren't any cards that he could see, but he could see other things. Other things that struck a spike of cold fear in the deepest depths of his heart.

Ruri stared. Yuuto didn't move. They weren't his parents, but he'd spent so much time at the Kurosaki home as they grew up, that on the moments he forgot and called them mom and dad, no one so much as blinked.

Shun's throat dried. He couldn't have said a word if he wanted to. He took a step closer, and then another. He could feel Ruri's hand close on his wrist, just as he'd done for her, but he twisted away and ran, faster than before, until he dropped down next to the body that had been his father.

He reached out, fingers brushing against cold skin for a heartbeat before he pulled his hand back. Cold flowered up within him, followed by heat hotter than the hottest of volcanoes. His eyes prickled and a tiny part of him became aware that tears burned down his cheeks.

He didn't care. It didn't _matter_. Not when he could stare into eyes that couldn't look back, see a hand that couldn't comfort him even when he thought he didn't want it, no longer hear a voice that told him what he was doing was the right thing or not.

Slowly Shun raised his head and stared to where Ruri stood staring down at their mother. She had her hand wrapped around the pale, limp hand, as she had so many times when they were growing up.

There really wasn't that much left of them, both crushed by what had been their home. Shun's throat closed even tighter.

 _They were waiting for us. They were worried about us._ It made sense, even if he couldn't be sure about that. Their parents were dead because they hadn't been home.

 _If we'd been here, we could have all gotten out safely._ Or they could have died together. He didn't know. And once again, he didn't care.

A hand came onto his shoulder. Shun raised his head to stare into Yuuto's worried, grief-filled eyes. He could barely wrap his thoughts around the idea of what was happening. His parents dead. His personal teacher – one of the most famous duelists in all of Heartland – nothing more than a card, kept in his pocket.

At least he had Yuuto. At least he had Ruri.

"We need to go," Yuuto murmured, throwing a look over his shoulder. "I think I heard some of those hounds getting closer."

Oh. They couldn't stay here, then. There wasn't enough space to hide for any of them and he needed time to scream, to decide how long it would take him to find the ones who did this and strangle them, or worse.

He wasn't sure of what 'worse' would be. But Shun found himself more than willing to find out.

Yuuto helped him back to his feet, casting intermittent glances back along the street. Shun could hear them now too, bays and howls that sent unwanted chills all through him.

He wanted to stand and fight. He knew they couldn't. He knew every reason they couldn't but it was what he wanted regardless. He wanted to see Rise Falcon's talons rend every single one of those soldiers – those cowards! - until there wasn't anything left of them, not a card, not a bit of breathing flesh, _nothing_.

Ruri took one of his arm. Yuuto took the other. They dragged him along, his feet stumbling over stray pieces of rock and shattered pieces of wood, until he managed to get himself together enough to run on his own, to search for a place that they could hide and get themselves together.

He wanted to look back, to at least find the time to bury the people who'd raised him for all these years. But there was no time. Staying around here would do nothing but give the invaders more bodies, more cards.

He didn't know how they made people into cards. He would find out. And he would do it to them.

Even better, he would shred all of those cards. Would that kill them all the way? Did being… being carded kill someone?

That was something Shun didn't have the slightest idea about. But he would turn all of them into cards and shred them all and then he would know.

He wouldn't _care_ but he would know.

Yuuto pulled them both to one side. It took Shun a few moments to grasp why: a long spread of shattered brick and stone that had probably been the big house at the end of the street not that long ago. Shun remembered who lived there: a retired pro who still had quite a few of their old skills left.

Shun wondered if they'd been transformed into a card with or without a fight, how many of the enemy that they'd taken down if they had fought, or if their home had simply come crashing down on them without any sort of warning.

There was enough space here for them all to curl in and hide, giving them a chance to catch their breath. Shun rested his head on the ground for a few minutes, letting all of his thoughts swirl around before he raised his head to look towards Ruri.

She lay much as he had, clothes streaked with dirt and mud and tears, holding her deck close to herself.

Shun breathed in silence for a few moments before he said anything.

"We have to fight back," he murmured, the words just enough to carry to the other two. "If we don't, we're already dead and just haven't stopped moving yet."

He hated the thought of Ruri being in a battle like this. He hated the thought of _anyone_ being in a battle like that.

But they hadn't started this. It was the fault of all of those _Fusion_ soldiers. They'd come to this world without so much as asking permission, let alone getting it, and unleashed monsters that somehow straddled the line between being holograms and being real. He couldn't even imagine all the destruction and that was just over less than a single day.

What was it going to look like if they _didn't_ get rid of these invaders? If everyone just hid and waited until their world was crushed beyond their ability to rise up again?

Yuuto nodded. He didn't look any happier about it than Shun himself felt. Shun wasn't even all that certain how happy he would ever be again.

Ruri said nothing at first. Her eyes remained on her bracelet.

Shun couldn't remember when she'd _not_ had that. As far back as his memory stretched, it had been there. One of the very first memories he could recall involved Ruri chewing on it, back when her wrist was far too small for her to wear it on there and she'd carried it as a necklace.

She stared at it a lot whenever she was upset or worried about something. She'd mentioned once that it helped her to think. Now he wondered what she was thinking about.

She raised her head to meet his eyes. "Let's see who else we can find. There have to be more people. The more that we find, the better."

She wasn't wrong there, Shun decided. If they could find more survivors, especially ones who knew how to duel, then they would have a much better chance of success.

"Where do we look?" Yuuto wondered, raising his head up to look around. Shun wasn't sure how good of an idea that was, but he didn't lift it far, and tucked it back down a few moments later.

Shun tried to think. Duelists usually gathered in several different places: the main city center had been a popular one. That was where one of the biggest invasions had occurred, with nearly fifty dueling soldiers and their monsters appearing out of nowhere.

Fifty hadn't seemed like so many a few days earlier. Shun thought differently now. Fifty did so much damage. Not all of this, but so much.

"Let's see if we can get back into town," Ruri suggested, tilting her head a little, gaze flicking back and forth between the two of them. "We might meet some more people on the way."

Shun couldn't help but snort the faintest bit at that. "Will they be people that we want to meet?"

It wasn't funny at all. They all knew it. But both Ruri and Yuuto choked out something that wasn't even close to being laughter. If one didn't pay enough attention it could have been mistaken for that, though.

Those sounds did seem to help, in an odd sort of way. Shun couldn't seem to smile himself, but to know that something he'd said got that reaction warmed a tiny part of the strange mixture of ice and heat inside of him, in an entirely different way than he'd ever thought possible.

"Let's find out," Yuuto said, taking another look. The baying of the hounds had faded over the last few minutes. Shun guessed that the soldiers and hounds had taken a different way.

He pressed his head down for a few moments, trying to breathe quietly and get himself sorted out. He couldn't even imagine everything that they were going to need. It all swirled around in the back of his head.

They would need food and water. He hadn't eaten since this all began, searching for answers on what was going on. He didn't think Ruri and Yuuto had eaten either. There wasn't anything at all left of their old home to give them anything, not clothes or spare cards or anything.

Shun couldn't help but be glad that they had their decks with them at all times. He had no idea of what they might have done if the decks and discs had been at home when all of this started.

They would also need a place – or a lot of places – they could be safe at. Shun couldn't imagine how many they might need. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have more than one bolthole to hide in?

What else… what else would they possibly need? Medicine, in case anyone got sick. Someone who knew how to fix a duel disc in case any of theirs were damaged. That didn't happen often, or at least it hadn't before. But accidents could happen even under the best of circumstances.

Shun's duel disc had broken just two months earlier, when he'd dropped it from his bedroom window. He hadn't _meant_ to, but he'd been leaning out to talk to Yuuto and it slipped from where he'd put it. It cost him all of his saved allowance to replace it.

Now the three of them carefully worked their way from one bit of cover to the next, watching for any sign whatsoever that would give them a warning of being approached. Ruri took the lead; she wasn't the smallest but she had the sharpest eyes and more than once she gestured them to hide either in a rare surviving bush or behind a pile of rubble and debris.

Every time she did that, within a few minutes, the firm tread of boots, usually accompanied by mocking laughter and words Shun couldn't quite understand, crossed by. Shun clenched his fists together every time, aching to get out there and fight. The idea of letting these monsters go by without some kind of fight infuriated him.

 _I'll fight them,_ he promised himself. _Sooner or later, I'll fight them._

* * *

Shun tried to ignore the throbbing in his ankle. He'd been able to for a while now, but the longer he did, the worse the pain grew.

He'd slipped down a hill. He'd been trying to get into position to attack one of the patrols when his feet caught on slippery mud and down he'd tumbled.

That had been nearly an hour earlier, and he'd spent every bit of that hour doing his level best to avoid being caught. His ankle wasn't even the worst pain. That was his right arm, where his duel disc was.

Had been. He'd tucked it into his coat for safekeeping, at least until he got back to the base.

Which base was this now? He couldn't remember. Over the last couple of years, they'd moved as often as they needed to, and sometimes when they didn't. Some of their best fighters ended up captured, and while everyone presumed they were turned into cards, no one could be entirely certain.

So when they didn't know, when no one had seen what happened, they packed up everything and looked for a new place to set up their base.

Ruri would probably know how many times they'd moved. She helped keep all of this organized, which was better than he could do. He fought. He and Yuuto both fought. Ruri did too, though he still wasn't happy about her doing it.

She fought well, though, and she'd even carded some of the Fusion soldiers. He had a collection of cards that had once been people. He kept them in two separate areas: the ones that were Fusion soldiers – if he ever ran low on fuel during winter he wanted to burn them – and those who'd been Heartland citizens.

Shun kept himself out of sight, reaching up to touch his wrist with his free hand. He couldn't tell just what the damage was, only that he wouldn't be able to duel until it healed. What he could also be certain of was that his wrist was badly bruised and whenever he moved it, pain ratcheted up from wrist to shoulder.

"I think he's picked up a scent!" He heard one of the Fusion duelists, far too close. "Let's go!"

Shun bit back words he didn't want to use for fear they'd give him away. A quick look, the tiniest of peeks, showed they were indeed as close as he feared, if not closer.

Even worse, he could see another team of patrolling duelists coming up from another angle, with another of their holographic beasts. It didn't matter how much time had passed since the invasion, he still wasn't close to certain how real they were.

And if they could indeed track by scent, then they had his.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I have ever so much fun planned for this week! Most will be one-shots, and I'll continue this one next week, hopefully. Until then!


	2. Chapter 2

**Words:** 6,319/9,399|| **Chapters:** 2/3

* * *

Shun made his choice in a heartbeat. It wasn't a choice that he wanted to make but he didn't have any other to make. Which really made it not a choice at all.

He threw himself forward, past the tattered canvas he'd concealed himself behind, and swore loudly at the sharp pain that raced up his leg from his ankle. The three Fusion soldiers were already looking in his direction, and one of them looked almost impressed by his choice of language.

"He's injured," one of them observed, voice floating faintly over. "This isn't going to be a very fun game."

 _A game._ Shun hissed at the words, buttoning down on what he really wanted to say, if only because he needed the breath to keep on running. At least he tried to run. With each step his ankle and leg hurt even more and he had to force himself to move just to have a chance of escaping.

He didn't think he had a _good_ chance. He wasn't sure if it was even a chance at all. Certainly not from the way the three of them – six of them, he'd almost forgotten the other bunch coming his way – sauntered in his general direction. None of them seemed all that worried about him getting away from them.

But he was going to try, whether or not he could. He snarled, holding his duel disc close to himself, ready to at least attempt to draw if they got too close. Well, closer than they already were. Just the fact they existed in the same dimension that he did meant they were too close for him.

"Are we sure he's one of the resistance?" One of the ones that hadn't spoken yet asked. "Do we even have a chance at a good game?"

Shun didn't wait around for one of them to answer that. "Yes, I am!" It wasn't as if he'd ever hidden what he was. He'd made a point of taking pride in how much he wanted these people out of his world. Nothing they did could ever make up for what they'd already done, if they even wanted to _try_ to make up for it.

The Fusion soldiers didn't even act as if he'd said a word. One of the second bunch gestured towards him. "He is. Look, he's wearing one of those scarves. That's how they mark themselves, the idiots."

"As if you're any better, wearing those ridiculous uniforms!" Shun shot back. If they weren't going to pay any attention to what he said, then did it matter what he said at all?

They followed. They made no attempt to respond to what he said, casually chatting among each other, as if it were an every day thing to stalk down someone with only limited ability to defend himself.

Shun hated them all more and more with each moment.

His foot dragged on the broken road, catching on a small crack, sending another blinding shard of pain all through himself. His heart beat faster as he struggled to stop himself from falling.

Struggled and failed. He landed face first, a streak of pain along one cheek, another against his stomach, a third thrumming on his left side. He dragged in a harsh breath of air and pushed himself to his feet, twisting around. He expected to see them closer. Why would they not be?

And yet they'd come to a halt about where they'd been. Five of them chatted among themselves. One watched him. When that one saw Shun glaring at them, he smirked.

"Why should we ruin our fun by just finishing you right away? You're not really going anywhere, are you?"

Shun hated those words as soon as he heard them. But another thought sparked the moment he did and he fought to keep himself under control.

"You might just be surprised," he muttered before he pushed himself back to his feet and started to move again. If they weren't just going to card him or challenge him, then it gave him time to do more. To think more. To maybe, just possibly, get out of here in one piece.

And if it didn't, then he would at least have tried. And he would be able to keep them away from the people that he cared about. The resistance would survive. They would find a way to win, with or without him. That mattered more than he did. _Much_ more.

He pushed himself on even more. The one who'd started talking to him didn't stop.

"Do you have _anything_ decent at all in this world? No food. No drinks." His lips moved in a way that Shun thought would mean a smile if they were on a different face. Not a very pleasant one, but a smile all the same. Shun hated it. He hadn't seen a _good_ smile since the day of the invasion. "Not even a decent summoning method."

Shun snarled, lunging for a few paces before he stumbled again, going down on one knee before he caught himself. All six of the Fusion soldiers laughed at that, with the one who'd been talking sneering.

"And you can't even _walk_ decently. The least you could do is run from us. It will be a lot more fun if you do – and you might even live longer." He tapped on his duel disc briefly. "Not all that long, of course. I'm going to card you."

"No fair!" One of the others protested. "It was my Hound that found him first! I should get to do it!"

The third growled at both of them. "I say we duel and whoever wins does it."

Of the other three, the one who looked in nominal command snorted in his own turn. "We could just flip a coin. It would be a lot faster and we could get back to fun before we miss anyone else who might be in the area."

Shun shook his head. "There isn't anyone else. Just me." Which wasn't entirely untrue. He just didn't want to risk them chancing across the refugee camp. The sentries and roving patrols would probably take them out before any real damage happened, but he preferred not to take that chance.

And yet he might as well not have said anything in the first place. One of the last two pulled out a small item from a pocket. "There are six of us. I've got a dice. Who wants to be what number?"

 _They're talking about who wants to card me. Who wants to_ _ **kill**_ _me._ More than once Shun killed or carded Fusion soldiers, and had on occasion bantered with Yuuto on which of them got which particular ones when they had options. They had a more or less standing agreement to take turns.

But they hadn't flipped coins or rolled dice or anything like that when it came time to settle. For the most part, there were more than enough soldiers for them to take all that they wanted.

Shun pressed his lips together and shoved onward. If they wanted to take him, they would still have to actually walk to do it, no matter how slow they had to do it. He kept an eye on the holographic hounds as he did. They growled and snarled in his direction but never moved away from their masters. He wondered if they were somehow that well trained or if they were programmed not to move a certain distance.

Yuuto would be a lot more interested in that than he was. So would Arclight-sensei. Shun wanted to know only so he had some idea of what he was going to be up against.

He wasn't quite to the point of hopping along but if he hurt himself much more, he knew that he would be. His swollen ankle throbbed and dragged along; the ankle that hadn't been hurt still didn't move as fast as he wanted, and he wondered if he'd injured himself there somehow and just not noticed it. Scrapes and aches flittered all over his body and there were streaks of blood that even if the six Fusion soldiers weren't there, they could have easily used that to find him.

Most of the light poles had been knocked over in the last couple of years and were used now more for landmarks than for lights. One of them, bent to the side and with the bulb long since shattered, hung not that far ahead of him. Shun half-skipped and half-lurched along, wrapping his fingers around the pole and taking in deep breaths, each one of which came from the deepest part of his lungs, and each one of which ached for him to breathe.

 _They're still there. Now what?_ He almost hoped they would get bored and go find something else to do which would give him the chance to get out of there. He wasn't even sure if they'd decided who got the chance to card him or not. As long as they didn't decide to just do it, he still had a chance.

A very slim chance, but perhaps a chance all the same.

"You should get moving." One of the Fusion soldiers spoke up. This wasn't the one who'd talked to him before. That one kept his attention on Shun, a smirk playing over his lips as he moved closer. Shun drew in another breath, trying to ignore how much that hurt, and started forward again.

What he wanted to do was throw them off his trail and get somewhere long enough so he could call up one of his Raid Raptors. He'd be able to get out of there with that kind of help. As much as the idea appealed to him to just do it now, with six of them there and with how slowly he moved thanks to his injuries, he knew they would pull him down before he could escape. So he needed time and space. And preferably a few allies who'd be able to interfere before his pursuers could do anything to him.

A soft beep sounded and he jerked his head back to see the Fusion soldier who led the pack checking something. Apparently a message of some kind, as an expression of rage crossed his features.

"I did _not_ want to hear that!" He all but spat the words out before he glared at Shun again. "If you want to keep breathing, you'd better start _really_ running. Not that it's going to do you any good, but what's coming is a lot worse than us."

The other soldiers looked as confused as Shun himself felt at the moment before the leader let out a very annoyed snarl. "It's him. Just got the message that he's on the way."

Whoever 'he' was, the soldiers took a near collective step back and started to look around as if they expected whoever it was to just appear out of thin air. Given how Shun had seen some soldiers appear at times, it wasn't that impossible of a thought. But nothing happened, at least not in the sense of someone new appearing.

"Why?" One of the others asked. Shun couldn't really tell them apart except for the one that seemed so intent on getting hold of him. "What does he want here? Just hunting?"

That got a shrug. "I don't know. All I was told was that he's coming here for a mission of some sort."

"Who?" If Shun were going to run – which he absolutely didn't want to do unless he had no choice – he at least wanted to know who he was running from. "Who are you talking about?" He also wanted to have some kind of idea on what sort of person he needed to avoid. Seven people instead of six made escape that much harder.

Especially if one of them were someone who made monsters like this wary.

"You don't want to know. He's carded more of your kind than I can count and I won't let him steal another one from me!" The soldier hissed his words, fingers clenching into fists before he glared at Shun. "Go! Run!"

Shun stood his ground. It wasn't that he had any particular bias against running, but he wanted to find out something. "What makes you think I should do anything you want?" For that matter, what held the fool against simply carding Shun right then and there if he wanted to do so that badly? It wouldn't at all be the first time that Fusion soldiers carded those who couldn't fight back.

"Because if you get caught by us, we're just going to card you," one of the other soldiers said, ignoring the sharp hand wave that came from the supposed leader. "Yuuri cards people too, but he's…" The soldier shook his head and if Shun hadn't known better, he would've thought the other looked pale. "Yuuri _hurts_ people before he cards them."

"So if you just run from us, we'll hunt you down and make it quick. You might not even notice a thing." Another one said.

A third snorted. "Which is always disappointing to me, because they never scream right when they don't notice it."

Shun sneered at that; what did they think he was going to do, just scream to make them _happy_ about it? What kind of idiots were they, really?

"Yuuri's worse. Yuuri is so much worse that I can't even describe it. He will make you suffer. You'll _want_ to be carded before he's done with you." A fourth said with a shake of his head.

The fifth glanced around even more nervously than before. "I heard that someone once carded himself just to get away from Yuuri. Can you believe that?"

 _No._ Shun thought he had enough of his breath back. He refused to believe a single word that any of them said. There most likely wasn't even someone else coming: it could all be a trick just to get him to do whatever it was they hoped for. Shun wasn't at all in the habit of co-operating nicely with his enemies.

To the left. To the right. A quick check behind him. He didn't see anyone else and the only real sounds he heard were the quiet footsteps of the six soldiers and their hounds, and the sighing of the wind through the ruins. If there was anyone else around, they weren't anywhere near here and that gave him more time to get to solid cover.

The more he looked the more he recognized where he was, and that meant he knew where there was better cover. As always, the issue would remain on if he could get to that better cover before they got to him.

The pain from his ankle eased off a bit by now. Not nearly enough so he could walk without effort, and running wasn't even an option. If he tried, he'd fall again. He still couldn't use his duel disk. Even if his arms and hands worked, he'd heard a crunch from within his jacket when he'd fallen. He remained certain that his deck was safe, but as for the disc itself? He didn't have time to look and he refused to check where they could see him.

Ruri would lecture him once he got back. So would Yuuto. He wasn't going to pretend that they wouldn't, not once they saw how badly battered he was and heard about how he'd had to escape six Fusion soldiers. He wouldn't put it past Yuuto not to let him out of base on his own for at least a month, if no longer.

 _It'll take that long to either get my duel disc fixed or find a replacement anyway._ The rules were that no one could go out who couldn't either defend themselves or have someone with them who could do the defending.

He moved. He moved as fast as he could, hauling his battered leg along and wishing that he could move faster, do something that would help himself, or just _do something_ more than limping.

"We could just go on and card him now," he heard from behind him. "We can tell everyone what kind of an entertaining hunt it was. Who would know the difference?"

That was one of the others; not the one who seemed to want to hunt him down personally. He was the one who answered. "You're right. He's not in good enough shape to make it really fun and if we don't hurry up, Yuuri will get here anyway. Go!"

Shun didn't stop to see what that last word was directed at. He didn't really need to, not when he heard metallic paws surging forward, and something plowed into him, knocking him down against the ground.

 _So close! No!_ Shun's fingers stretched out towards the half-ruined building that stood only about two dozen steps away from him. The sign that marked what it was could barely be read with how weather-beaten it was, but he knew what was inside: perfume. Probably not much left now, but if he could find enough of it, he knew it could be used to hide his trail.

Those footsteps coming closer to him, far too many of them. Shun surged and strained, wanting to get back on his feet, wanting to take the final leap into the wreckage and at least _try_.

"I really wanted this to go on a little farther. I was having fun!" The main soldier almost seemed as if he were pouting. He was close enough for Shun to see him now. Shun wriggled and writhed, managing to flip himself to one side so he could glare at the six of them as they approached. The one in the lead had his duel disk up and out. "Any last words?"

The six looked at each other for a heartbeat before they all started laughing, the sound echoing back all around from the nearly empty city. Shun refused to give them any satisfaction at all, his head held up high and proud and defiant.

The soldier's hand moved towards a button on his duel disc. Shun didn't move.

"Am I interrupting?"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** So, is it Yuuri? Is it Yuuto? Is it someone else? Could even be Kaito! Or Ruri! Or some other resistance member. You'll find out tomorrow! However, whoever it is, I'm contemplating an alternate ending so it's someone else. But not for a while yet. Still working on completing fics properly before I do alternates. But who would interest you to see?


	3. Chapter 3

**Words:** 9,399/9,399|| **Chapters:** 3/3

* * *

Shun's head snapped to the side, where the voice came from. For the first few seconds, given how the shadows fell, he thought that perhaps this was Yuuto and all the tension flowed out of him.

All of it slammed back in a heartbeat later when the new arrival moved closer. Every step he took screamed that he wasn't Yuuto, who moved like all the rest of the resistance did, cautious and wary and ready for battle at any second. This stranger moved like a predator, a casual stroll that still emanated how dangerous he was.

Shun got a look at their face and stared for a few heartbeats. This might not be Yuuto – wasn't Yuuto – but he _looked_ like Yuuto. Their hair was very similar, though Yuuto's eyes were soft cloud gray and this person observed the world through shimmering amethyst.

"Yuuri-sama," one of the Fusion soldiers murmured as all six of them drew up to attention. "We heard you were coming."

"I'm sure you did." The newcomer strolled closer to Shun, staring down at him thoughtfully. "Chasing a bit of resistance scum, I see. When I wanted your help for something important."

Shun tried to get to his feet, but the weight of the Antique Gear Hunting Hound kept him where he was. The new arrival chuckled at that.

"And he's injured, but you keep on chasing him instead of just getting rid of him."

This person – Yuuri – was far too close to Shun for his personal taste. The closer that he was, the more Shun could see how his features resembled Yuuto's. It wasn't right. Yuuto never looked at him like that, a mixture of curiosity and contempt. Yuuto never looked at anyone like that.

"Yuuri-sama," the soldier who'd been moments away from carding Shun spoke up, voice trembling, "if you need us, then we can go on and get rid of him… unless you would like the honor?"

Shun snarled, attempting yet again to shove himself to his feet. Yuuri casually shifted around the hound and pressed him down with one foot. He wasn't nearly as tall as Shun was, but he pressed right on Shun's solar plexus, sending him gasping.

"You stay quiet. This doesn't concern you." Yuuri sounded more as if he were addressing a child than a potential enemy. Shun gasped for breath, a raw desire to wrap his hands around that neck and break it surging through him. Getting up wasn't going to happen any time soon, no matter how much he wanted it to be different.

He wanted to insist that it did concern him; they were talking about carding him, after all. But that one hit made it all but impossible for him to talk.

Now Yuuri looked at the Fusion soldiers. "What I want you to do is tell me where I can find a few resistance members of my own to play with. I have time until my next mission."

Shun wanted to scream even louder at that, to do anything that would get hold of Yuuri's attention and keep it on him, not hunting for his fellow fighters. Which included Yuuto – why did Yuuri have his face? - and Ruri – he'd better not go anywhere near her, Shun wouldn't allow it!

He dragged in a sharp stab of breath, ignoring every bit of pain that twisted through his body, and seized onto Yuuri's ankle, trying to shove it off of himself. It didn't do a lot of good, but Yuuri turned down to look at him regardless.

"Why do you look like Yuuto?" It took even more effort to grind out the question. He didn't expect Yuuri to really answer it, given how he brushed off every other attempt Shun made at talking.

But instead, Yuuri frowned, the slightest hint of curiosity flickering through his eyes. Shun suspected that curiosity wasn't a good thing at all.

"And who is this 'Yuuto'?" Yuuri tasted the word as if he didn't like it, a whisper of a frown crossing his lips at the same time. Shun didn't answer, still struggling to get proper breath, which wasn't helped by the way Yuuri casually ground his foot deeper into him. "I expect you to answer me. I answered _you_ , after all."

Shun strained even more, dragging at Yuuri's ankle and wishing he hadn't, at least with the way his arm throbbed and ached with every motion that he made. _It's a distraction,_ he reminded himself. That was all. Just a way to keep Yuuri's attention on him so that he wouldn't wander off to find the people Shun cared about.

He would have much preferred fighting on his own – could Yuuri even be half the duelist that Yuuto was? Shun didn't think so – but with his duel disc broken and all the injuries he'd collected, that wasn't an option.

"My best friend!" He managed to snap, before a slash of rage made its way across his lips. "Better than you!" Not only was Yuuto a better duelist, he was just a better _person_. Because Yuuto didn't go around to other worlds without an invitation and try to take them over for apparently the simple lack of nothing better to do with his time.

Yuuri ground his foot against Shun ever so slowly, lips twisting, eyes dancing with untold sadistic pleasure as Shun squirmed underneath him.

"Is that so..." He didn't seem to really be asking it as a question. "I think we're going to have to find that out."

Shun strained harder but Yuuri seemed to know just where to press to keep him down. All the rest of his injuries didn't do anything to help that. Yuuri's eyes raked over him, noting each and every part of Shun that bled and bruised. Then he turned to the soldiers there.

"I've changed my mind. I don't need any other new toys. I've got one I'm going to keep right here."

Oh, no. No, that wasn't going to happen at all. Shun surged upward, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain that sliced into his arms as he tried his best to shove Yuuri off of him. Amazingly, it worked: Yuuri stepped to one side. For a few seconds, Shun wondered if he'd actually done it himself, at least until Yuuri gestured for the metallic hound to get off of him.

"You can run – well, I'm allowing you to run. I would duel you, but it seems that's not an option right now." Yuuri leaned down to tap on Shun's jacket, where small bits of his duel disc exposed itself. "Once we get back to Fusion, I can get you a new one and I'll have even more fun with you."

Shun reddened at the thought of using one of those revolting sword duel discs, shaking his head. "No!" He'd get his own repaired before he put one of those repulsive things on his arm.

"I don't re call giving you a choice." Yuuri prodded at him with his fingertip. "Now, back to the fun. You can run, at least as much as you _can_ run. You're getting a head start. It won't do you much good, but I'm going to enjoy it." That smile didn't change. Shun had never thought he would hate smiles so very much, but what else could he do when it was Yuuri who smiled? "When I catch you, we're going to go back to Fusion. I have _questions_. And you're going to answer all of them."

That got another shake of Shun's head. He had to struggle to draw in breath, even as he pushed himself to his feet. He couldn't run, not with his leg like it was, but he would try. The perfume shop still was in sight, giving him a place to start. He knew a little more about how this place was set up, even now when it was the disaster that it was.

Behind the counter in the perfume shop there had been a storage area. It wasn't all that big, but it hid a secret regardless: a trapdoor that would lead to a much broader area, containing enough room for Shun to hide. He wasn't sure what it had been originally used for. But it had a tunnel leading out from it that didn't come out under the ground until it was quite far from here.

Various resistance members tried to find out who set it up, but no one could locate any more information about it. It clearly had been set up with resistance folk in mind; it contained a few spare duel discs, food and water, and other odds and ends that came in handy, such as blankets, and spare clothes. Everyone left it the way it was instead of plundering it for supplies. It could come in handy, it was said, and Shun thought now would be a very good time to find out if it also had a first aid kit. After everything else it had, he thought it would. He just needed to find it.

"If you don't want to answer my questions, then you're going to have to escape me." Yuuri gave him a long look up and down. "And I don't think you're going to be able to do that. You couldn't even escape _them_." He waved one hand toward the six Fusion soldiers. "You absolutely can't escape me." He leaned forward, lips twitching in that hideous mockery of a smile. "But I'll let you try."

"He won't do it," one of the soldiers muttered to another as Shun tried to balance himself. He still wasn't doing a good job of it. "No one escapes Yuuri-sama."

"Then I'm going to be the first!" Shun snapped. He took a few steps, his breath catching in his throat, his ankle swollen and hot. He wished he knew more about first aid and finding out what sprained or broken bones felt like. He knew he'd done _something_ to his ankle, he could hardly walk on it, and the more pressure and strain he put on it, the worse it got. He just didn't know what he'd done.

"I doubt that. But you don't have to worry that much." Yuuri kept watching him. "Once we get back to Fusion, I'll have you taken care of by our medical people. You'll be in good shape again in no time." Again his gaze raked across Shun. "And you're going to get some decent meals. What _do_ you eat here?"

Shun's fingers clenched and unclenched. He didn't know if Yuuri asked that because he _knew_ or because he didn't. Either way the urge to hurt Yuuri just spiraled higher and higher.

"What we're left!" He snapped, taking a few stumbling steps away. The soldiers snickered at him, but Shun kept most of his attention on Yuuri for right now. They weren't chasing him down anymore. He could ignore them.

Yuuri didn't move. His eyes didn't leave Shun, but he made no effort to follow him, either.

 _That's not right._ He had no idea of what sort of deck Yuuri might run. He clearly wasn't a common Academia soldier so the odds that he had one of their ordinary Antique Gear decks were somewhat low. So there wasn't any real way to guess what he had that Shun would have to deal with.

"Don't worry. You won't have to eat scraps anymore once you're with me." Yuuri sounded as if he thought this were a good idea. "I take very good care of what's mine, especially when you do what I want."

That got another shudder from Shun and he hitched himself along several more yard. Still Yuuri didn't move an inch, but tracked Shun with his eyes alone. That sent a worried chill all through Shun. What did Yuuri know that he didn't? Even

the soldiers followed him and kept him in sight, albeit very slowly and mockingly.

 _If he's trying to let me get away..._ With the way that he stared at Shun and the genuine fear that the soldiers had of him, Shun couldn't actually believe that. There was just too much desire to cause _pain_ in that expression.

But if Yuuri were going to give him that chance, no matter how slim and non existent it really was, Shun would take it. If he could get into the shop and into the tunnel, he'd be safe. So far as they knew, none of the Academia soldiers knew about this place.

He stumbled along a little more, almost stumbling over a spray of rocks, and yanked himself back to his feet. He made himself not look again. If he watched Yuuri too much, he wouldn't get away. He had to _move_.

Several more steps and his entire body ached even more. He heard no steps coming towards him, but there were sounds of some kind regardless. He ignored them, focusing on the half-hidden door. It would look to them like he was just hiding in a place they could easily uncover. At best he was just trying to cover his trail with the perfume, if they even were aware of that.

His fingers were inches from the door when the far too familiar sound of a monster being summoned came from behind him. Something lashed over his head, crashing into the store and bringing it down. He ducked to one side, trying to avoid flying debris and only succeeding by the barest of margins. Tiny shards dug into him and a heartbeat later, he stumbled back, his balance overwhelmed, and crashed against a spill of rocks that had once been a decorative wall for the small park on the other side of the street.

When he dragged himself up to stare, there wasn't anything left of the perfume store but a pile of ruins and rubble. He couldn't tell from here if the tunnel underneath survived and he couldn't look at all. What he did do was stumble over there, breathing fast and hard, and not at all surprised when his feet gave out from under him and he crashed to one side, breathing hard.

But he'd landed the way that he wanted to, and he had a few seconds to do what he wanted to do. He had only time until Yuuri got there and he could hear quiet, assured footsteps.

He dug his working hand into his jacket and jerked out one card. Not a common card; one of the Raid Raptors. He didn't like doing this, but he had two more of it, and he had enough different plans that it would probably not make much of a difference. He tucked it in between two pieces of rubble and shoved a third on top of it. To most people it would be invisible. But to the resistance, who would search for any signs of the tunnel or usable goods, they would be able to find it.

Those footsteps came to a stop. Shun tried to move himself over, but one again Yuuri stepped on him, a firm, harsh movement that kept him pinned where he was.

"I think you've run enough. You're going to hurt yourself more than you already are if I keep letting you go."

"As if you care!" Shun snapped, wishing that he could do more to get that pressure off of himself. Yuuri didn't move and he didn't have enough strength left to do it. What energy he had, he'd used up getting here. His stomach growled, as if that weer the most important thing in the world, and he shuddered, not wanting to think about a nice quiet meal in the tent he shared with Yuuto and Ruri.

Yuuri's hand rested on the back of his neck. It was far too soft of a touch, yet whenever Shun moved away, it remained firmly there, gripping hard.

"Oh, but I do. You'll see soon enough." His hand slipped around Shun's neck, gripped tightly, and pulled, Shun staggering to his feet. Yuuri didn't release him, but pulled him farther down so they stared into one another's eyes. He'd never seen eyes so cold or so full of pleasure at seeing someone else hurt and at his mercy.

If Yuuri had mercy. Just from the way that he looked, Shun didn't think that he did.

"Oh, I am going to _enjoy_ this," Yuuri murmured. "You hate me. You barely even know me and you hate me so much that it sours you."

Shun wasn't going to argue that point. It didn't matter that he didn't know Yuuri. Just the fact he was from the Fusion dimension and that he wore Yuuto's features gave Shun all the reasons that he'd ever need to hate Yuuri.

He tried to jerk away again, but Yuuri's grip wasn't so easy to break. His smile didn't fade in the slightest before he twisted, seizing hold of Shun's arm and forcing it up behind him.

"Time to go. I'll come back to finish my assignment after I've got you taken care of." Yuuri nudged him and Shun stumbled forward a few steps, whether he wanted to or not. He didn't. He very much didn't.

Like it or not, Yuuri's support kept him on his feet as he was pushed along. So much of him hurt in every possible part, his stomach growled repeatedly, his throat ached with dryness, and his mind fogged with weariness. He barely grasped that the other soldiers followed along, murmuring between themselves.

He wasn't sure of how far they'd gone before Yuuri pulled him to a stop and draped one arm around him. In between Yuuri's fingers there rested a card: the same card that he'd tried to hide in the rocks.

"You're going to need that," Yuuri murmured, reaching to pull Shun's duel disc out and tucking the card into the deck neatly. "You shouldn't drop your cards like that."

Shun didn't have to be able to see his face to know that Yuuri smirked with each word. There wouldn't be any sign of where he'd gone or even the slightest hint that he was alive. He'd hoped for that much, at least.

But Yuuri pulled a card out of his own deck, arm tightening around Shun. What Shun could see of the card was the name and nothing more. _Violet Flash_. It meant nothing.

At least it didn't until the card enveloped them both in purple energy and Heartland vanished from all around them.

* * *

 **The End**

 **Notes:** Okay, I was really thinking about having it be Yuuto or any other ally of Shun's who turned up. But I flipped a coin and it came up Yuuri. Who am I to argue with the Coin? Also, as I said last chapter, I will write an alternate ending where it is Yuuto, Kaito, or some other ally. Final reason: this was started for the Arc V Angst Week and what could be angstier than this?

I may indeed write a sequel detailing out what Yuuri does with Shun this time. Though it's easy to guess. My Arc-V OTP is Shun x pain delivered via Yuuri, after all!

Another fic down! 24 to go! Next up, **Where I Tell You**.


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